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Herwin, the Netherlands

Herwin is a European Customer Support Manager

Based at our Development Centre in the Netherlands and works with multi-national companies to optimise their packaging supply chains​

He helped develop a new case through our designers’ local knowledge of Unilever, expertise gained at our Development Centre and a dedicated customer creative workshop. This pack was recognised by Unilever at their ‘Partner to Win Sustainability Award’ for 2010.

What is the most exciting innovation you have developed?

The ‘Shopper’ project involved the development of a new perforated Regular Slotted Case in conjunction with Unilever, a Pan-European customer. The previous design was a dual material pack using plastic ripper tape and its performance against the retail ready packaging ‘5 Easy’s’ was poor. In response, a new design was created that was easy to handle and open in the retail environment, improved its appearance on shelf and reduced the total cost ownership of the pack.

What was the inspiration behind the innovation?

The pack was developed through our designers’ local knowledge of Unilever’s systems and requirements, and expertise gained at our Development Centre. The design came from a dedicated customer creative workshop set up to encourage inspiration involving a core team of UK and Italian designers. Called ‘How do we create a better pack?’ the designers used our 3D tools to show Unilever the most effective solutions. Throughout the project, we collaborated with Unilever ensuring their needs were met.

What happened next?

Unilever now has a highly successful, optimised solution with added value, a better appearance on shelf, and a lower environmental impact - 140 tonnes less plastic used by removing the ripper tape - at an optimised cost level. The pack is being introduced across Europe. Smurfit Kappa is the only manufacturer to offer a structured, Pan-European implementation. In response, Unilever recognised our work on this project by awarding us their prestigious ‘Partner to Win Sustainability Award’ for 2010.